金融時報:矛盾的美國人

矛盾的美國人

本文作者系英國《金融時報》財經(jīng)編輯加里·西爾弗曼（Gary Silverman）。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

mourner ['m??n?] n.哀悼者

rugged['r?g?d] adj.粗糙的

stance[stɑ?ns] n.態(tài)度，看法

denouement[de?nu?'m??] n.結(jié)局

compartmentalization['k?mpɑ:t,ment?lai'zei??n] n.區(qū)分，劃分

yuppie['j?p?] n.雅皮士，屬于中上階層的年輕專業(yè)人士

America’s secret love for ‘illegals’ (789 words)

It is the love that dare not speak its name. But thanks to the long-running popular US reality show known as the Republican presidential campaign, it has been laid bare for all to see.

I speak of the love Americans feel for illegal immigrants. We don’t talk about it much because few people anywhere, apart from Charlie Sheen and harder-core mourners at funerals of suicide bombers, are comfortable with public displays of affection in connection with illegal activities. But it’s real.

The latest evidence comes courtesy of an American by the name of Paul Babeu, the elected sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, and an outspoken advocate of tougher measures to prevent people from getting into the US illegally by crossing the rugged border that separates his state from Mexico.

In recent years Mr Babeu’s stance has made him a star in Arizona’s Republican circles. He was in a television commercial as part of John McCain’s 2010 campaign for re-election to the Senate, which featured the men discussing ways to stop illegal immigration and concluded with the sheriff saying: “Senator, you’re one of us.” This year Mr Babeu launched a bid for election to the US House of Representatives and signed on as co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in Arizona, raising his national profile.

But Mr Babeu’s public image changed this month when the Phoenix New Times reported allegations made by José Orozco, a 34-year-old Mexican immigrant. Mr Orozco claimed that he and Mr Babeu met in 2006 on a website for gay men, and then fell in and out of love. During the denouement of their years-long relationship, Mr Orozco alleged, Mr Babeu’s attorney threatened him with deportation if he refused to sign an agreement promising never to discuss the affair.

Mr Babeu, who is 43, said it was “completely false” that Mr Orozco had been threatened with deportation, and told reporters that he had believed the Mexican man was living in the US legally, according to the Associated Press. But Mr Babeu acknowledged being gay and having a personal relationship with Mr Orozco. While vowing to continue with his bid for a congressional seat, the sheriff stepped down from his voluntary job with the Romney campaign on Saturday, only days before the February 28 Arizona primary.

Arizona authorities, following up on a request from Mr Babeu, are looking into the allegations. But the most interesting part of this story for me involves the facts of the Babeu-Orozco relationship that are not in dispute, because they shed so much light on the complex relationships so many people in this country have with our “illegals”.

When it comes to immigration, Americans such as Mr Babeu are masters of the old Clintonian skill of compartmentalisation. In public displays, like his television advertisement with Mr McCain, Mr Babeu was a warrior, pronouncing Arizona “outmanned” at the border and agreeing with the senator on the need to complete “the danged fence”. In private Mr Babeu seems to have taken a more nuanced approach in dealing with arriving Mexicans. When one of those people crossing the border caught his eye, Mr Babeu felt love, allegedly.

While I doubt that romantic relationships of this sort are particularly widespread, I do think it is par for the course for people of Mr Babeu’s circumstances – by which I mean comfortable, in a material sense – to form close ties with immigrants without knowing for sure whether they are in this country legally or illegally.

It’s part and parcel of the US upscale life. Look behind any yuppie in this country and chances are you will see an immigrant – or two or three or more – standing in the shadows. There is no way that so many Americans could pursue the time-consuming careers and leisure activities they love without the support of recent arrivals who mow our lawns, rake our leaves, clean our toilets, make our deliveries, clear our tables, cook our food and care for our children and our elderly. We don’t pay these people enough, but there is no denying the warmth of our feelings for them when they are doing our dirty and difficult jobs.

For all his criminal justice experience and obvious ideological fervour, Mr Babeu seems to have behaved like so many of us when he sat down in front of his computer on that day and went looking for love or companionship or the fulfilment of some less elevated desire. When he met his match, and got what he wanted, he apparently didn’t think to ask whether the Mexican who fulfilled his needs had all his papers in order. I suspect Mr Babeu didn’t care very much at the time at a moment like that. Few people do.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1.About the relationship between Mr Babeu and Mr Orozco, which of the following descriptions is INCORRECT?

A. They knew each other through the internet.

B. They maintained a homosexual relationship.

C. Mr Babeu admitted that he had already known Mr Orozco was an illegal immigrant.

D. It was Mr Orozco who made their relationship known to the public.

答案(1)

2.About Mr Babeu, which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A. Mr Babeu advocates that the United States should be tougher to prevent illegal immigrating.

B. Mr Bebeu is a republican.

C. Mr Babeu was involved in the campaign activity of John Macain.

D. Mr Babeu will do a voluntary job with Romney's campaign in Arizona.

答案(2)

3.According to the author, why did many American's love illegal immigrants?

A. Because of their humanitarian sympathy.

B. Because illegal immigrants provide cheap labors which allow them enjoy more leisure.

C. Because of their ideological considerations.

D. Cannot determined from the text.

答案(3)

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. To describe and explain some American's conflicting attitude toward illegal immigrants.

B. To tell an anecdote of a sheriff.

C. To suggest ways for solving issues concerning illegal immigrating.

D. To discuss the social acceptance of homosex.

答案(4)

* * *

(1) 答案：C.Mr Babeu admitted that he had already known Mr Orozco was an illegal immigrant.

解釋：根據(jù)文中"...and told reporters that he had believed the Mexican man was living in the US legally, according to the Associated Press."可知，Mr Babeu宣稱自己一直認為Mr Orozco是 合法居住在美國的。故C錯。

(2) 答案：D.Mr Babeu will do a voluntary job with Romney's campaign in Arizona.

解釋：根據(jù)文中"While vowing to continue with his bid for a congressional seat, the sheriff stepped down from his voluntary job with the Romney campaign on Saturday, only days before the February 28 Arizona primary."可知，Mr Babeu被“請”出了羅姆尼的選舉陣營。故D錯。

(3) 答案：B.Because illegal immigrants provide cheap labors which allow them enjoy more leisure.

解釋：根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段的內(nèi)容，B正確。

(4) 答案：A.To describe and explain some American's conflicting attitude toward illegal immigrants.

解釋：